Chapter Twenty-Four

 

 

 

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

 

She denied it but I could tell Kelly was envious of Megan’s engagement. It made me feel like shit for taking that all away from her. She didn’t even have a real fucking ring but instead wore something that had cost me twenty bucks in Vegas. I knew that for a fact because I’d found the receipt in my wallet a few weeks after the trip.

“Good morning, Nick,” Megan said one morning as I walked out into the kitchen. It was Monday and a week after the public engagement. Kelly and I had been married for three months and the past week had been the best. Being able to tell my wife how much I loved her constantly was my favorite part of the day.

We’d also lost our game the day before when we played Rollins Fire Department. They’d beaten us by two runs and would go on to play the police department in two weeks for the championship. It sucked but there was always the next year.

“Morning, Gold.” I took the empty mug she handed me and nodded thankfully. “Can I ask you a favor?”

She propped herself up against the counter with her coffee in hand and nodded. “Of course.”

“You know your sister better than anyone. I want to get her a real ring for her birthday and I’m not as jewelry savvy as Owens. Any chance I could get your input on a few?”

“Actually,” she replied with a small smile on her face. “You should call my parents. Kelly has had her eye on my grandmother’s old ring for years. My sister has a thing for vintage jewels and that is right up her alley. Just a warning, though, they refused to give it to Mason when he asked but I think you might have a different result.”

“I’ll call them tonight. I knew you’d know what to do.” I paused and held her eyes for a minute. “Do you see the sadness there, too?”

Megan offered me a small smile. “I do. She tries to hide it but it’s there. You have to know that it’s not about you, Nick, right?” When I nodded, she went on. “She planned this whole wedding with Mason. Picked out her dream dress, the venue, the food, the cake, the music, the honeymoon… She had this fantasy in her head and it was taken from her abruptly. I don’t think she ever gave up on that dream wedding, though.”

“And I took that opportunity away from her.” I rubbed my eyes and let out a sigh. “I’ll figure out a way to fix it, though.”

Megan didn’t say anything else as I went back into the bedroom. The wheels turned in my head as I tried to figure out what to do. Kelly deserved so much, probably more than I could give her, but I was sure as hell going to try.

I set my coffee down on the dresser and crawled back into bed. Kelly was still asleep, laying on her stomach with her naked back exposed. Neither of us had bothered with clothes after I’d given her a back massage that turned into amazing sex.

My lips skimmed the smooth planes of her back and she squirmed slightly while letting out a moan. I knew my wife well enough to know that it was an annoyed moan and not one of passion. That just made me smile against her shoulder blade.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

“Fuck your sunshine,” she grumbled before shoving her face into the pillow and letting out another moan. “I really don’t like you in the mornings.”

I pushed some hair off of her neck so I could press a kiss at her nape. “I know and I accept it because you love me the rest of the time.”

It took another ten minutes before she rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I stripped off my shirt and started the shower so that the water was warm for her. We both stepped into the spray and visions of taking her against the wall overwhelmed my senses. Those visions were chased away when I saw the exhaustion on her face.

“You’re not getting enough sleep,” I murmured as I rubbed the barely visible bags under her eyes. She smiled before tipping her head back to wet her hair.

“You’re wearing me out with sex. Three times yesterday, Nicky. I think we’re lucky I can walk.”

I couldn’t help the proud smile that spread across my face. “I’d say sorry but I’m not sorry, hot stuff. Making love to you is one of my favorite things.”

“Don’t think I’m complaining,” she said as she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. “I’m just stating facts, handsome.”

Contrary to how busy our sex life was, the shower had become our intimate area for other reasons. We washed each other most mornings and spent the time talking about our plans for the day. I only had a chance to shower with her two or three times a week thanks to my work schedule so I considered each time to be precious.

“What are you going to do today?” she asked as her fingers massaged conditioner into my scalp. My head was drooped backwards so she could reach and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed her touch.

“I was going to go grocery shopping and meet Delia for lunch.”

Kelly smiled as I rinsed the suds out of my hair and she shook her head. “You don’t have to do the grocery shopping. I should have done it while you were working.”

“I know.” I turned off the water and kissed her hard. “I want to, Kel.”

I got her some coffee and toast while she got ready for work and then sat on the bed to watch her. Observing her do her morning routine was one of my favorite things and the small smiles we shared when our eyes met in the mirror made me love her even more.

After Kelly was gone for the day, I immediately dug out my phone and called Renee. I had the same conversation with her that I’d had with Megan earlier that morning and she let out a small sigh when I explained my desire to get Kelly a real ring.

“You’re a good boy, Nick. Can you come out here on your next day off?”

I told her I could and we arranged for me to come out for lunch on Thursday. I laughed at myself when I pocketed my phone so I could head out to my car. The prospect of getting the perfect ring for Kelly made me happier than I would have thought.

The drive into the city took me about twenty-five minutes and I pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant that was located on the west side of Las Vegas. Delia’s small Ford was already there and my eyes found her immediately when I walked inside. She stood from the booth as I approached and I wrapped her in a tight hug.

As far as my siblings went, I had always been closest to Delia since we were the oldest. She also had a personality that was similar to mine and I knew it drove our father nuts with how wild we were. The best part of our relationship was the fact that we could go to each other for advice and know that the other wouldn’t hold back.

“How’s married life treating you?” she asked as soon as we placed our order. I grinned and grabbed for the chips and salsa that were in the middle of the table.

“It’s amazing. This sounds fucking sappy but it gets better every day.”

Delia flicked a chip in my direction and laughed softly. “That’s disgustingly sappy, honestly, but I’m happy for you. I really love Kelly.”

“She’s perfect, right?” I grinned and shoved the chip she’d tossed in my mouth. My sister rolled her eyes but nodded her head.

“Way too good for you, that’s for sure.”

I couldn’t argue there. We placed our orders with the server and I sat back with a long sigh. “Owens proposed to her sister the other day and Kelly’s been… off. I totally gypped her of the whole wedding experience and I think it’s really just hitting her.”

“I can see that,” Delia agreed with an understanding smile. “You can’t go back in time and fix it but there are a few things you can do.”

“Like what?” I leaned forward, desperate for her advice.

“Like buying her a fancy dress and throwing a nice big party for you guys. Kind of like a reception, you know?” She tilted her head slightly with her brows furrowed as she brainstormed. “Oh! You could take her on an amazing late honeymoon. Rent a honeymoon suite on a tropical beach somewhere and spend a week or two by yourselves.”

“A honeymoon.” I felt the corners of my lips tugging up into a grin. “That’s an amazing idea. And here the family thought you were just a ditz, D.”

Another chip hit me in the face, the sharp corner of it stabbing me in the forehead. “Just for that, I’m ordering a margarita and you’re paying for lunch.”

She ended up having three and we stayed at the restaurant for a couple of hours, just laughing and talking. I didn’t spend nearly enough time with my siblings and I vowed right then to make a better effort to see all of them.

I headed back towards Canyon City after paying for our lunch and wrapping my sister in a tight hug. She told me she would go home and start researching honeymoon destinations for me. Ideas ran through my head the entire time I was grocery shopping and I had a few thoughts in mind by the time I walked through the door of the apartment. I put the groceries away and immediately started working on something for dinner.

“What are you making?” Owens asked as he peered over my shoulder an hour later with a weary look on his face. I poured the marinara mixture over the top of the pan and sighed.

“Vegetarian lasagna, I think. Hopefully it doesn’t suck.”

Owens watched me stick it into the oven before chuckling. “The last lasagna you made tasted like ass.”

He was right. I’d made lasagna earlier in that year during one of the times I had dinner duty at work. The noodles had been crunchy, the cheese wasn’t melted, and the marinara sauce might have been expired. We all had ended up eating cereal for dinner that night. Well, except for Trujillo. He’d loved the freakin’ lasagna. I wasn’t half-bad in the kitchen, especially when it came to Greek dishes, but somehow pasta and I never got along.

“I may or may not have called our mother-in-law for some tips,” I admitted, setting the timer on the microwave and causing Owens to laugh again.

“You saying our mother-in-law is kind of trippy.” He shoved a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese into his mouth. “Renee is awesome, so I guess we’re both pretty lucky.”

“Nice to know you guys like my mom.” Megan’s voice came from behind us and we both looked at her in surprise. She was wearing a pair of pale purple scrubs and a smile as she moved towards Owens to give him a quick kiss. “Hi, boys.”

“Hey, babe.” Owens wrapped her in his arms and I stepped out of the small kitchen to give them some privacy. The apartment was a good size for an apartment but we were definitely pushing it to the seams with four people and a dog. The house hunting was still happening for Megan and Owens but it had been pushed to the backburner as the wedding was made a priority.

I settled in the reclining chair with the remote and turned on an episode of Law & Order. Megan and Owens joined me a few minutes later and we were about halfway through the episode when the door opened and my gorgeous wife walked in. Her face was bright and her smile wide as she dropped her purse and bag off by our bedroom door.

“Hey, guys. It smells amazing in here.”

I leaned my head back and accepted the kiss she placed on my lips. When she pulled back, she zeroed in on Megan. “I have magazines.”

And she did. Her arms were loaded down with probably ten or so bridal magazines. Megan was sitting on the end of the couch with Owens immediately next to her. One look from Kelly was all it took for Owens to shift so he was at the end and she could take his spot.

“I’m so excited to go through these. We can get an idea for what type of dress you want and the style of cake. I figure we can earmark it now and then start to narrow things down.” Kelly was speaking quickly and all of us were just smiling at her. “I talked to Mom and Carol today and we can even go to LA to look at dresses if you want, maybe make a weekend out of it.”

I watched my wife as the excitement from planning the wedding made her glow. The sadness panged in my gut again for what I’d taken from her.

“Who’s going to be best man, Si?” Kelly asked as she turned to face Owens. “This knucklehead or your brother?”

Owens let out a long sigh. “Why do I have to pick? Can’t they both just be equal?”

“Alex should be your best man, dude,” I said as I picked up one of the magazines Kelly had set down. “No hard feelings.”

Kelly smiled at me before turning and raising her brows at Megan. “I’m not as understanding as my husband. I better be your maid of honor.”

“I thought that was just a given,” Megan replied with roll of her eyes. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Good.” Kel stood from the couch and came to where I was so she could drop into my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she cuddled close to my chest. “I can’t wait. You’re going to look beautiful and it’s going to be so much fun. Now you just need to pick a date.”

Megan and Owens exchanged a look and I chuckled softly. “You guys already did.”

“Yeah.” Owens nodded and moved so he was next to Megan again. “May tenth.”

Kelly let out a soft squeal. “That gives us eight months, not too shabby.”

I held her in my arms as she and Megan chatted about the wedding. The girls were so happy and so excited that I couldn’t help but smile. The more they spoke, the more I realized exactly what I wanted to give Kelly for her birthday.